Season Nine’s Bigg Boss home sports an overtly surreal outlook, rather kitschy in stylistic terms, but photogenic and full of razzmatazz. Replete with high-end luxury, and dotted with outlandish, theatrical elements, the home for the contestants to stay during the next 100+ days has been designed by set designer-filmmaker Omung Kumar.

Reality TV shows – scripted or otherwise – are microcosmic capsules of life; which offer glimpses into some interesting, inherent and intrinsic aspects of human mind, behavior, expression and spirit. Particularly intriguing are reality shows which force selected people from varied backgrounds to co-habit in a restricted space, for an extended period. Bigg Boss, the Indian version of Big Brother – currently in its ninth season – is one such reality show focused on co-existing in a bungalow, for three months - without access of any kind to the world outside its boundaries! Located in a picturesque setting, in Lonavala, about 82 kms away from Mumbai, the Bigg Boss home is a sinfully indulgent space, donning a different theme each season!

Omung Kumar, the designer of each of the Bigg Boss homes has derived inspiration from the theme of “double trouble”. Deepak Dhar, CEO & Managing Director of Endemol India – the production house of Bigg Boss – says: "The idea was to do something very bright and outlandish. Every little corner and the rooms have been differently designed.Though the entire look gives out a Mediterranean vibe it leads up to double trouble as a concept. So there are double beds, double chairs, double sofas - everything is in pairs. Every room has its own unique character. The intention is to multiply the entertainment and trouble quotient of the house as well,” explains Dhar.

The living room has a vintage interior, with old suitcases and TV sets. Colour combinations of electric blue and pink dazzle the ambience. The confession room has a grand and royal feel, draped in velvet; while the washroom areas are large and emblazoned in red and gold. 

The loud, overbearing space, however, is a conscious, strategic decision – to provoke the contestants! “A vibrant house is something which a lot of people may dislike. The house is too loud and when it starts getting to you, people will be on the edge and that’s when a lot of content will start coming out. These are our ways of planting things,” Dhar says.

Therefore, vibrant colours, often clashing; glitzy treatments, often garish; exuberant patterns, often tiring – and yet however, managing to look ‘wow’ enough to engage the viewers – that’s the look of Bigg Boss 9 home. The additions to the house this year are a complaint box, drone (aerial camera), three mannequins in the garden area and a roof-top lounge.

In such reality shows the décor is implicitly used to manipulate the psyche of the inmates; and indeed it requires an astute understanding of the concept of the show and the viewers’ response – to be able to dish out decors with a high visual quotient.